Jordan's King Abdullah
II has promised to fight back hard against Islamic State, saying that the death
of a Jordanian pilot at the militants' hands will not be in vain.
The remarks were made
as the king held a crisis meeting with security chiefs.
He cut short a US trip
after IS posted a video showing pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh being burned alive.
Jordan executed two
convicts, including failed female suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, in
response.
Lt Kasasbeh was seized
after crashing during a bombing mission by the US-led coalition over Syria in
December.
Jordan had sought to
secure Lt Kasasbeh's release in a swap involving Rishawi, but IS is believed to
have killed him a month ago.
The BBC's Paul Adams
in Amman says talk of an exchange appears to have been an IS tactic to string
Jordan along and foster doubt among Jordanians over its role in the US-led coalition.
'Undermine
and degrade'
The king was greeted
by a crowd of several thousand people at Jordan's main airport on his return
from the US, with many holding up pictures of the monarch and the country's
flag in a show of support.
After a meeting with
security chiefs, AFP news agency quoted him as saying in a statement: "The
blood of martyr Moaz al-Kasasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan
and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe."
Meanwhile government
spokesman Mohamed al-Momani said a collaborative effort was needed between
members of the US-led coalition to "undermine, degrade and eventually
finish [Islamic State]".
"This evil can
and should be defeated," he said, adding that Jordan was "more
determined than ever" to fight the militant group.
Analysis: Frank
Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent
In addition to the
horrific voyeurism of the latest hostage murder video from IS, something else
stands out - the total inability of the US and its coalition allies to save
hostages from the clutches of IS.
For all its
multi-billion-dollar intelligence-gathering agencies, its satellites in space,
and its highly trained special operations teams, Washington has been unable to
mount a successful hostage rescue mission in IS territory.
So this video is not
just a warning to Arab pilots taking part in the US-led air strikes, it is a calculated
mockery of coalition impotence to stop them murdering their hostages, slowly,
in broad daylight, at a time of their choosing.
Everyone knows their
base is in Raqqa in northern Syria, and it is no secret that other hostages are
still in IS hands.
Efforts may now be
increased to find them but an earlier US rescue mission failed, and planners
will be looking at the long odds against another one having any more success.
Source, bbc news
No comments:
Write comments